MADRID, Spain - Terrorism experts and heads of state and government will tackle some of the core questions in the war on terror during a four-day conference beginning Tuesday and timed to coincide with the anniversary of the deadly train bombings in Madrid. The gathering will consider whether countries are cooperating enough to fight terror, whether the flow of terrorists' money can be stopped, and the role of the media. After a series of panel discussions, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will make a policy statement Thursday. | What, did the UN finally come up with a definition of terrorism? Didn't think so. |
About two dozen presidents, prime ministers or kings are to join 200 experts from 50 countries who will present research on extremism and religious-based violence. The meeting ends Friday — a year to the day since the attacks in Madrid killed 191 people — with recommendations on how governments could work together to curtail the threat of terrorism.
Among those scheduled to attend are Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as well as the head of Russia's National Security Council, Igor Ivanov, and U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and former President Bill Clinton may also attend, said a conference spokesman, Andrew Hazell. | That's a lot of high value targets, well, most of them.. |
The conference brings together countries that have suffered major attacks, such as Spain and the United States, and others where political violence is part of daily life. In Algeria, an Islamic insurgency has raged since 1992.
Spanish participants said last week that governments must address the causes of terrorism to defeat it, rather than lashing out as the United States did in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. | If we had just "lashed out", as you call it, Riyadh would still be glowing.. |
The United States attacked Afghanistan in late 2001 because the Taliban regime was sheltering Osama bin Laden, whose al-Qaida network carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The consensus ... is a 'soft' power approach based on prevention — not like the United States has in mind, but (rather) with engagement with North African Muslim nations, economic development, assimilating and integrating immigrants into host nations," said Charles Powell, a history professor at San Pablo-CEU University in Madrid.
Discussions Tuesday and Wednesday will focus on political, economic, religious and cultural explanations of terrorism, and appropriate police, intelligence and military responses. The Arab-Israeli conflict will be a key topic, along with democracy-building in parts of the world with authoritarian regimes.
"I believe (the conference) is going to support the European style and not put force first; rather, only as the last resort," said Andres Ortega, director of the Spanish edition of Foreign Policy magazine. Haizam Amirah Fernandez, an analyst at the Real Instituto Elcano think tank, said that is because Europe is geographically close to the Middle East, has historical ties and significant immigration from Muslim countries, and — unlike the United States — has relatively little military power. "Europe is looking for more stability while the United States is less fearful of change," even if that involves great risk, Fernandez said. "The value systems don't always coincide." About 33 former heads of government will attend.
Countries sending top-level representatives include Croatia, Lithuania, Serbia-Montenegro, Slovenia, Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania. | A real group of global powerhouses |
Key panelists include the former longtime director of Interpol, Ray Kendall, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi of Iran and Amnesty International Secretary-General Irene Khan. Financier George Soros; the head of the United Nations' anti-terrorism committee, Javier Ruperez; the co-founder of the medical relief group Doctors Without Borders, Bernard Kouchner, and dozens of police and intelligence experts, religious figures, academics and journalists also will take part.
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